


Daemons Aren't All-Knowing

by Procrastination_Sensation



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, I abuse italics, and parenthesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 03:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6736645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Procrastination_Sensation/pseuds/Procrastination_Sensation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One human. One daemon. Two halves make a whole. That's how it's always been. </p>
<p>But Yona does not know who she is until she does (Hwan only knows as much as she does, after all. He's no help). And Dragons- Dragons are not human at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daemons Aren't All-Knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is when they're kids, so it has spoilers for the Young Leaves in the Wind chapters. Also for that extra chapter where Hak gets his Raijuu nickname, if you've read it.
> 
> If you've never read this AU before, the daemons are the opposite gender of their counterparts unless stated otherwise.

**Yona**

 

“Hwan is particularly pretty today,” Soo-Won tells her, offhand, as if it is simply the weather they discuss. Yona trips over her feet when she hears this, the startled sound she makes accented by the sound of her palms hitting the ground and both Hak and Hwan’s snickers. Her face is as red as her hair as she picks herself up.

“It's not funny!” She whines at them, but the snickers continue, Hak doing nothing to hide them and Hwan ruffling his feathers vainly. Soo-Won tries to keep his expression stoic, but the corner of his lip is twitching and Yona can hear Kyung giggling quietly from his direction. She pouts and plops down on the ground, crossing her arms and ‘humph!’ing in not-their-direction.

She hears footsteps approaching but doesn’t turn to look, even when a hand touches her shoulder and Soo-Won’s voice says, “I’m sorry, Yona. I didn't mean to startle you so badly.” She puffs out her cheeks and turns her head even farther away. When she hears a faint hiss of amusement she assumes comes from Hye, she's tempted to just storm away. “Yona?” Soo-Won asks, obviously hoping for forgiveness. She pouts a bit more, then sighs, looking at him petulantly.

“You laughed,” she mumbles out, causing Hak's laughs to grow in volume.

Soo-Won looks faintly apologetic, but he points out, “But it _was_ kind of funny.” Kyung is a spider perched on his shoulder, the tiny giggles still faintly audible.

Yona's considering going back to pouting, especially since Hak stops laughing only to breathe, when it’s cut off by an annoyed meow and a startled half-shout of Hak hitting the ground after falling from his perch. Being _pushed_ off of his perch. Both Yona and Soo-Won look to where he'd been sitting, and Hye is there, cleaning her paws as she basks in the sun. She ignores them, even when it is now Yona who laughs at Hak’s misfortune, Soo-Won and Kyung joining in and Hwan struts over to her to nest in her lap, his tail feathers still barely reaching where he'd previously stood.

~

Later, when the three are watching Kyung and Hye play-fighting as hawks not far away, and Hwan is perched on her shoulder as a parakeet (because her father would never approve of him taking predator shapes), Yona turns and asks “Soo-Won?” of the boy next to her. She doesn't see the two hawks falter in their play for a moment. He turns to look at her.

“Yes, Yona?”

“Did you mean it when you said that Hwan was pretty?” Hak is studiously ignoring the both of them, but Yona’s eyes are on her crush when his lips stretch into a soft smile.

“Of course! He's always pretty. He is half of your soul after all.” His voice is gentle and a blush is rising to her cheeks again, because even if she _is_ only six she knows that she's in love. Hwan flutters off her shoulder and his body grows as he lands, his feathers becoming long and jewel colored. The sudden movement draws the attention of all three of them, and Hye and Kyung swoop down on Hak’s and Soo-Won’s shoulders respectively. All five of them watch as Hwan shifts his feathers slightly, shakes himself a bit, and then flourishes his tail feathers out into an iridescent fan, eyes in the designs of the feathers, and the tallest point higher than Yona. Yona’s blushing even harder as the other four look at the smug bird, preening his feathers, in awe.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, staring at the ground, causing Hwan to trill in amusement. Hye shifts into a cat and pounces, attempting to bat at Hwan’s enormous tail feathers, causing him to squawk in indignation and try to scuttle away. Kyung lifts off of Soo-Won’s shoulder in order to hover over the tops of Hwan’s feathers, chirping in curiosity. At this point Hwan gives up on running and just stands still, sighing in aggravation and looking extremely put-upon as Kyung keeps fluttering and Hye keeps batting.

This causes the three humans to snap out of their surprise and into a fit of laughs. “Hwan, you-” Yona manages out of a fit of giggles, “you sounded just like Joo-Doh.” There is a split-second of realization, punctuated by utter silence only broken by an even louder sigh of annoyance that sets everyone, even Hye and Kyung into another great fit of laughter.

_‘You’re all ridiculous,’_ her daemon’s voice says, amused, in her mind, and her giggles cease as she begins to pout.

_‘Hwan, you’re just as ridiculous,’_ she thinks back to him, Hak, Soo-Won and their respective counterparts calming down as well.

She watches Hwan preen a bit more, and almost giggles again, when his voice returns with, _‘Soo-Won thinks I’m pretty.’_ She pauses, and then a blush returns to her face. The boys look at her with confusion as she hides her face in her hands, Hwan releasing another trill of amusement and swishing his tail around.

 

**Hwan**

 

When Yona pokes her head around the wall leading out of the castle, Hwan changes form into a small mouse and scampers onto Yona’s shoulder. He’s usually a peacock whenever Soo-Won is around nowadays, occasionally changing into brightly colored butterflies or parrots, but the peacock form always received the best reaction, so it stayed.

To Hwan, being a mouse is humiliating in itself. Hwan prefers larger animals, or at least not rodents, since he isn’t allowed to be a predator. Especially around Hye and Kyung, who always love showing off by turning into big, intimidating carnivores. Hye’s favorite forms are always the ones that prey on whatever Hwan is at the time. But venturing out into the unknown of the town is slightly terrifying, a fact that he is only willing to admit to Yona, who vehemently agrees (smart girl, his other half).

Then Hak goads Yona into leaving the safety of the walls and suddenly there’s color everywhere. Hustle and bustle surround them and- it’s only like this during really big parties at the palace- and Hwan and Yona both look around in awe. Hwan immediately stops being a mouse and shifts to a dragonfly, flitting around and seeing their surroundings with better vision than Yona, which of course he brags to her about. He also brags about the fact that he can actually see past the bustling crowd, because he can fly even as a dragonfly and Yona’s too small to even reach the waist of some people.

_‘Can’t you turn into a horse or something?’_ She whines in his mind.

_‘Yona, you don’t even know how to ride a horse,’_ he retorts. Hwan imagines her pouting and snickers as she jumps up and down in vain. He’s about to take pity on her when Hak does first, lifting her onto his shoulders because somehow adding his height to hers is enough for her to see. Hwan takes advantage of the situation and lands on Yona’s head, shifting into a squirrel. Squirrels are supposed to climb, after all, and he _is_ getting kind of tired (not that he would admit it). Hye entertains herself by staying as a cat and weaving in and out of Hak’s legs, making piggybacking difficult but not impossible.

Then either Hye tells Hak or he notices it himself, because he turns (making them all turn), and extends a hand to a struggling Soo-Won, Kyung flapping above him like a feathery beacon. At this point Hye seems to realize that avoiding other people’s feet is more trouble than it’s worth and shifts into a tiny monkey-looking thing and clings to the bottom of Hak’s shirt, probably because Yona is on his shoulders.

Then they notice the food stall, and they all crowd around it to get a better look.

The shopkeeper welcomes them, of course, but that is not what startles them. It is when the man’s daemon, a lemur wrapped around his neck, uncurls herself and says in a chipper voice, _“Have some! It’s his best batch today!_ ”The two dissolve in a playful argument, not noticing Yona and Hwan stiffening in shock.

_‘Hwan!’_ Yona’s voice rings in his mind, amazed, _‘She just talked to us!’_

_‘I know,’_ he responds, just as amazed, _‘I guess things really are different outside the castle.’_

In the castle, it’s considered bad form for a daemon to be seen or heard talking. Even if it’s done behind closed doors and the talking is only done between one and one’s own daemon, it’s ill-advised and can considered as odd as, well, talking to yourself. Especially for royalty. Hwan can’t remember the last time he’d talked out loud, isn’t sure if even His Majesty has heard his voice. If he has, it was before either Hwan or Yona can remember. He knows for certain Hye, Kyung, and their humans have never heard it.

“Anyway,” the shopkeeper announces, clapping his hands together, “please excuse Eun’s interruption, what can I do for you three?” As the three humans talk over the dumplings about poison, Hwan has been sent for a loop. He can sense Yona is in the same state, so he knows he’s not the only one who noticed. Eun. The man just gave his daemon’s name? He doesn’t even know them! It’s considered an honor for someone to tell you the name of their daemon, the name of the other half of their soul.

Then he hears Kyung chirp, and suddenly everyone’s on the ground, Hak more-so, and Hye has landed flat on her face (Hwan won’t let her forget that anytime soon. How ungraceful). Then Hwan realizes (not just because Soo-Won said it of course) that he can smell Seung, Joo-Doh’s wolf daemon, which of course is _not good_ and is an _excellent_ reason to be on the ground. But then they pass and the shopkeeper is insisting that they buy something, seeing as they are causing a ruckus in front of his shop. Even the lemur- Eun- seems slightly peeved.

Soo-Won receives a bag of coins from a stranger but Hwan and Yona can’t seem to mind much because the dumplings really are delicious. Before they leave the shop, Hwan looks at Eun one more time and shifts into a lemur. He’s never tried being a lemur before; he likes the tail. He sees her notice, because she looks pleased as she calls after them _“Have a nice day!_ ”

Then Yona collides with what feels like a brick wall, and Hwan faces forward because he wants to see what they must’ve run into.

“Hey, you.” Suddenly, Hwan and Yona recognize what- _who_ \- they’ve run into, because the face looking down at them is horridly familiar. Hwan even recognizes his daemon, a dog with wrinkles all over its face. Kan Tae-Jun and his daemon don’t seem to recognize them, but that might be because the daemons are in different forms. Hwan’s never been a lemur before, Hye had shifted into a weird cat-looking thing, and Kyung is a brown- spotted butterfly

But Kan Tae-Jun doesn’t seem very interested in figuring out who they are, and the ensuing argument is honestly boring compared to what they _could_ be giving their attention to. He spots a different stall, full of sparkly things.

_‘Yona,’_ he whispers in her mind, and from on top of her head he can feel her twitch.

_‘What, Hwan?’_

_‘This is boring. Let’s go over there, it looks really pretty,’_ He points out the stall with his tail and she immediately heads over, just as interested in all of the accessories.

Crouched down as Yona is, the first thing that alerts Hwan’s sense of danger is the looming of a shadow over them.

“Little girl,” A man’s voice sounds from behind them, calling Yona’s attention immediately, “Do you want that? Shall mister buy it for you?” Yona’s terror pours into Hwan, shifting him into something small, a tiny hamster, his pounding heartbeat louder than his breaths.

_‘Yona-’_ he thinks, but she shakes her head, and Hwan doesn’t know if it’s her response to the man’s question or to him, so he goes quiet.

_Hak!_ She thinks desperately, _Soo-Won! Where are you?_ But they can’t see anyone.

“Have you lost your way?” and all they can see is a hand reaching for them. Out of the corner of his eye, Hwan sees a capuchin on the man’s shoulder, grinning at them. This is why he hates being a rodent. There’s no way to do anything to help.

Their vision goes black.

 

**Kyung**

 

_‘Soo-Won, I don’t see Hwan or Yona.’_ It had been like blinking: one second everyone was there and accounted for, then she watches Hak and Kan Tae-Jun arguing for what couldn’t have been more than a moment, and suddenly Hwan and Yona are gone. Soo-Won immediately turns to look, but he can’t see them either, and he alerts Hak and Hye. Even with Hak and Hye searching, they can’t find the royal pair, so she whispers to Soo-Won, _‘We don’t have any other choice,’_ and shifts into a python, coiling herself around his neck.

“Hak. Come with me.” And they make their way into the bowels of the city. Hak and Hye follow, both slightly wary, Kyung can see. Hye is still a fossa, and is pressed close to Hak. Kyung wonders idly whether Hwan had known what a fossa was.

“Won! Gyeong! It’s been a while! How’ve you been?” Kyung watches both Hak and Hye shift in confusion, Hye becoming a sparrow and flitting to Hak’s shoulder. Hak questions Soo-Won, and Hye eyes Kyung as if she wishes she was allowed to grill her as well.

“A lost girl? Isn’t that bad?” The speaker gains their attention. Hak speaks for all of them when he asks why, and, “I hear there has been a kidnapping operation in the area lately that targets kids.”

This is bad. They’d thought that maybe Hwan and Yona had simply wandered off, but if they have been kidnapped then there is no time to lose. But Ogi ignores their announcement for a lost child in favor of his game, and it is time for drastic measures, because Hye is reflecting Hak’s emotions by shifting restlessly between one form and the next. Kyung shifts into a owl, a large one, and flies to Ogi, landing on but not upsetting his game.

_“Ogi, please, this is no trivial matter,”_ she speaks and she can see Hye freeze forms (a wolfhound) for a moment, but Kyung’s eyes are on Ogi and he glares because he has never known a royal daemon.

He looks away and says, “I want to eat some roasted pork,” and Kyung flutters to the ground and shifts into a fox at Soo-Won’s feet, for the negotiations have begun.

It’s probably because Ogi’s irritated, it’s only happened a couple of times before, but when Soo-Won continues prodding (there is no time to lose), a good amount of sake comes flying at him. It’s uncomfortable to be drenched in liquor, but it’s doable and currently necessary.

But then Hak blocks Soo-Won and wolf-Hye covers Kyung, and they are surprised. Even more so when Hye punctuates Hak’s threatening words with a ferocious growl that rattles Kyung’s bones. She wonders what kind of face Hak is making, because Ogi and Bae who has her colorful feathers packed tight both look extremely nervous.

She and Soo-Won have never been on the receiving end of those two’s glares. They feel a rush of affection for their two furious friends.

“Won... That red-haired kid... Is she important to you?” Ogi asks, and Soo-Won answers the question verbally, but Kyung answers by transforming into a lemur, a response only those important to them will understand. She climbs to the top of Soo-Won’s head, and wonders if it’s as cute as when Hwan had done it on Yona.

In order to not be in debt to Ogi (it really is annoying, it’s happened a couple of times and he drags it out for as long as he can), Soo-Won makes the move on the board that Kyung had noticed while landing. The information in-flow begins, and Hye resumes her nerve-filled continuous shifting, but Hak hides it well otherwise.

Kyung stays silent while Soo-Won and Ogi plan, because even if she can talk here it still doesn’t feel right, and she keeps her eyes on Hak and Hye who watch them in awe. She wonders what they see to make them look like that. They negotiate a blockade.

The villagers complain about luggage-inspection as Soo-Won and Kyung watch from above the ground as Hak and falcon-Hye weave through the crowd, searching for their quarry. They see Hak spot a “large, dark-skinned man”, and dart forward to grab him, Hye swooping, but they can see a komodo dragon on the ground with a wide radius around it, and know that the only “large, dark-skinned man” that could have a komodo dragon daemon (Chul) is Geun-Tae.

For a moment, Kyung and Soo-Won are worried that Hak will waste too much time on Geun-Tae, when they both see the moment Hak sees another “large, dark-skinned man”. It is the moment Hye shifts into a wolf once more, fur and hackles raised, and howls loudly.

She has scented her prey.

They watch as Hye races to vault into the wagon that Hak leaps into, ripping open the bag that is child-sized, revealing Yona. Kyung shifts into a falcon and from her vantage point from the sky, because Soo-Won has begun making his way over to the conflict, she can see Hwan, a hamster, curled up on Yona’s collarbone.

She and Soo-Won are awed when Hak attacks the large, dark-skinned man, Hye throwing his daemon (a capuchin) to the ground with her teeth, and Kyung lands on Soo-Won’s shoulder because he’s at a good spot to see again. The man draws a knife and Geun-Tae comments on how pathetic it is, but a very familiar lion is looming behind the man’s capuchin, and a very familiar shadow stands threateningly behind the man.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY GRANDSON?!?!!” And Mundok slams the man to the ground, Sook pressing her enormous paw down on the capuchin’s back, pressing the helpless monkey into the ground, her golden tail twitching and her lips bared in a snarl. The man’s partner in crime spooks at the sound of Mundok’s name, and he and his hare daemon race away.

Right towards Joo-Doh and Seung, who are already looking murderous.

_'Good,’_ Kyung thinks coldly, _‘they deserve it,’_ and Soo-Won nods in response.

Yona is waking up, disoriented, and Hwan shifts to reflect their last thoughts before unconsciousness, into a rabbit, to _flee_. Before she can even process what is going on, Yona is calling their names, and Kyung and Soo-won both feel horrible as they wonder if that’s how she’d been when she was taken, and they hadn’t heard.

But then Yona sees Hak, and she hugs him tightly, and Hwan shifts into a squirrel, scampering up Hye’s wolf-legs and clinging to her neck fur, which surprises both Hye and Hak, from what Kyung can see. Then the four of them are getting the scolding of a lifetime from Mundok and Joo-Doh, with Sook looming over kitten-Hye who is pressing into Hak’s boots, and Seung, his yellow eyes staring fixed at Kyung as she hides on Soo-Won’s shoulder as a sparrow.

The last time they see Yona and Hwan that day, they are being enveloped in a hug from His Majesty and his armadillo daemon, Sun.

~  

Years later, when they are alone, Kyung and Soo-Won speak of settling out loud, because it suits them, to speak aloud, no matter the taboo.

“It is strength that will change this nation, not only wisdom,” Soo-Won says, and Kyung flicks her ear, a feline.

_“We are not very strong, Soo-Won,”_ she reminds him, because no matter how many different wolves and bears and great cats she’s shifted into, they all make her feel itchy, like she wears the wrong skin. His lips purse, and he brings his hand up to thumb at them thoughtfully. Kyung remembers how small that hand used to be, and marvels at how he’s grown. He will grow even more before he is done.

“Father would’ve been pleased if you’d settled into something great and terrifying,” Soo-Won muses, and Kyung ripples into a grizzly, enormous and horrifying, reminiscent of Woong, Yu-Hon’s late daemon. She feels uncomfortable instantly, and shifts into a fox.

_“Y_ _ou are not Yu-Hon, and I am not Woong,”_ Kyung bites back irritably, because they’ve had such conversations many times since Yu-Hon had begun pressing. She swishes her tail, and adds, _“_ _Besides, we don’t have to be strong to be terrifying.”_ When he glances at her, prompting, she continues, _“_ _It is not unuseful to be underestimated; we both know that. And if you’re so insistent on strength, there’s strength in numbers. Just think how many will become your strength when you are king.”_ He is thoughtful-silent again, and she waits patiently. His eyebrows crease.

“I know what you’re saying,” he says reluctantly, “and I understand the wisdom behind it, but...”

_“But you just can’t shake your idolization of Hak.”_ Kyung finishes for him dryly, and Soo-Won flushes in embarrassment. _“_ _You know, if everything goes right, we will have him and Hye as our strength as well,”_ she reminds him, and he gives her a small smile.

She remembers Hye’s howl when they had found Yona, and her growls when she had been protecting Kyung. But Soo-Won is not powerful, not an aggressor. He is a guardian of new-beginnings, and insightful. They are wisdom. Kyung remembers Hye, swooping at the great lizard that was eight times larger than her fearlessly, and how well that form had fit to allow Kyung to see hamster-Hwan from far-away.

Kyung knows now what their form is, now, and she shifts into a falcon and perches on Soo-Won’s shoulder. She wonders how long it will be until he notices she has settled.

 

**Hak**

 

Fighting Geun-Tae in the tournament is hard. Really hard. But not as hard as it should be. This is the man who is hailed as the strongest in Kouka, his daemon is said to have been responsible for the deaths of countless daemons by herself. But he knows Hye has a slight advantage with her shifting ability, so he stays focused on the man wielding the sword.

He is strong, Hak notes, because if Hak wasn’t able to dodge all of his attacks, this fight would be over quickly. But Hak is dodging, pretty well he admits to himself, and the people watching in the stands start shouting that he is a Thunder Beast, Raijuu, because he is fast like lightning and his attacks are heavier than most expect from a thirteen year old. Hye is a tiger and is roaring at Chul, intimidation tactics, and Hak fixes his eyes once more on the now-panting man.

Geun-Tae favors his left side, and it irritates Hak. Hak had seen old man Joo-Doh before this fight started, exhausted and wounded with a limping and injured Seung at his side, and he knows that that fight had been more difficult than any of his fights. He feels like this fight is unfair, and wishes he could ask for a postponement for this match for Geun-Tae to heal up, but tournaments wait for no one, and this fight is almost over besides.

Hak wins, calls of Thunder Beast and Raijuu gracing him and tiger-Hye. He tries to ask for a rematch but Geun-Tae seems alright with passing the title on; Chul even rests her tail on Hye’s shoulder for a moment.

Later that day, after everyone is done celebrating and he is settling down for bed, he notices that Hye hasn’t shifted once since, still lounging in the form of a tiger. He is about to ask her why, but then he realizes.

“That’s it then?” he questions, because the Wind Tribe doesn’t care if you do a drunken duet with your daemon at half-past midnight, much less have an idle chat. She blinks at him, slowly, and her tail flicks.

_“What, are you disappointed?”_ she throws back sarcastically, because there’s no way anyone would be disappointed with their daemon settling as a tiger. Hak isn’t surprised about the form, though. The citizens of the Wind Tribe almost always settle as cats, reflecting their laziness, most agreed, and the stronger warriors typically ended up as larger cats. Hak smirked at a thought.

“I’d say that tigers are even better than lions,” he says with amusement, and Hye laughs. “What do you think Gramps and Sook will think?"

 

**Yona**

 

Yona is fourteen when people start whispering about how Hwan (the princess’s daemon, to them) hasn’t settled yet. It’s no surprise to those who know her, but everyone else is being awfully rude. It doesn’t help that Kyung had settled as a falcon when Soo-Won was twelve, and that Hye had settled four years ago when Hak was a year younger than she is now.

Apparently not being settled yet is childish and unacceptable from a person of her standing, but she doesn’t really follow. You don’t choose when your daemon settles, they just _do_ , and Hwan hasn’t yet. He still changes forms more than she changes her clothing and they still laugh when Hye pushes Hak off his perch with her big, tiger paws. Why grow up and settle when there’s no reason to?

The only form Hwan seems to stick with is the peacock, which he takes whenever Soo-Won comes to visit. It always gets a smile and a compliment, which is always worth it.

On her fifteenth birthday, Father calls her and Hwan over to talk, and Hwan shifts into a garden snake and wraps around her wrist under her dress because they don’t like where this is going.

Sun is at Father’s feet when he begins, wringing his hands nervously,  “Yona, dear, you see... It’s about Hwan.” If anything, Hwan wraps himself tighter around her wrist.

“What _about_ Hwan?” she sends back, even though she thinks she knows what this is about.

“Don’t you think it’s... about time he settled?” Yona frowns, slightly, at this, and leans forward.

“Father, you said that settling isn’t something you can force. You said settling is just something that happens.” Sun curls into a tight ball of armor at the Emperor’s feet, and it appears Father is even more nervous.

“Well, yes, that is the case,” he almost mumbles, not meeting her eyes, “but it’s possible that, well, motivation might be a deciding factor.”

Confused, Yona clarifies, “Motivation to settle?” The Emperor seems pleased that she’s contributing, and leans forward, Sun uncurling to watch them.

“Yes, that’s what I mean. Our people are getting restless, you see. Many people feel that a princess with an unsettled daemon may be... immature.” Feeling terribly insulted, Yona opens her mouth to protest the implication, but her father quickly adds, “Yona, is it possible you don’t _want_ Hwan to settle?”

Yona’s mouth snaps shut once more, her eyebrows furrowing. Could that be the case? She doesn’t _think_ so- it’s more like it doesn’t matter one way or another to her or Hwan- but does indifference count as avoidance? Are they supposed to _want_ to settle? Hwan being able to shift still gives them entertainment sometimes, and it’s always fun to bother some people by trying out certifiably odd herbivores. That one noble hadn’t been able to come near her once when Hwan was trying out a porcupine, which was fantastic because the noble was a horrid conversationalist anyway.

Yona’s thoughts drift to Kyung and Hye, both settled years ago. Had they _wanted_ to settle? Had Soo-Won and Hak wanted them to settle? They never seemed like they cared much, but...

“Just think about it, won’t you Yona?” Yona focuses her eyes on the man, but nods only vaguely as she leaves the room, still lost in thought.

 

**Hwan**

 

In the dark of her room late that night, Yona finally asks Hwan, _‘What do you think?’_

He looks at her, a firefly blinking in front of her face, hovering. _‘I think this whole thing is ridiculous. Who care when we settle? We will when we will.’_

Yona purses her lips and shoots back with, _‘But everyone will think I’m immature and childish.’_

His aggravation at her response pours into her, especially so when he returns, _‘Yona, we_ are _immature and childish. There’s nothing wrong with that.’_

_‘We are not!’_

_‘Are so. We’re spoiled rotten, you know.’_ When she says nothing to that, he insists, _‘_ _We are! You_ know _!’_ She looks away from him, biting her lip. He shifts to be a ferret and climbs onto her lap, nudging her hands with his nose, and she pets him without a thought.

There is a moment of silence, when, _‘Hwan, Father wants you to settle.’_

Hwan tenses, his fur rippling, as he thinks, _‘He can want the sun to settle in the North, that doesn’t mean it’ll happen.’_ He can hear her thoughts whirling around, shifting the information, categorizing it, and adds, _‘_ _Nature obeys no one’s laws but her own. No human can force anything that is Nature’s domain.’_

Yona’s thoughts surprise him by spinning faster, an idea forming quickly in her head, a memory of Hak first learning how to use some unknown weapon, and his words, examining them, considering them. Hwan hisses the best he can in realization and whips himself off her lap, ripping himself away from her stroking as he grows the spines of a hedgehog, staring at her with night-vision eyes full of betrayal.

_‘Yona, no, don’t you_ dare _-’_

(“Fake it until you make it” Hak informs her with a grin, Hye snickering in the background.)

But Yona ignores her other half as this solution begins to take shape in her mind, because, _‘We could_ pretend _you’ve settled.’_ She whispers the words in his mind, and he bristles.

_‘It would be a_ lie _,’_ he hisses at her, his indignation swirling through the both of them, _‘It would be a travesty- you’d be denying who you_ are _,’_ his bristles fall slightly, hurt aching in their bones, and continues, _‘_ _and you’d be denying_ me _.’_

The elation and ecstasy that had been building in Yona at this solution comes crashing down, and she seems to deflate, curling inward on herself. Hwan trips over himself to shift into a raccoon and goes to press against her, grabbing tiny fistfuls of her hair, trying to pet her. She uncurls for just long enough to pull him into her chest to hug him to her. He thinks, suddenly, that they probably look something like a curled up Sun right now.

_‘I don’t_ want _to deny you, Hwan,’_ a mumble sounds in his head. _‘Never- I’d never_ want _to deny you. But...’_ Her lip trembles against his ear, and she curls in tighter as she follows with, _‘_ _but everyone who wants us to settle are denying_ us _.’_

Concerned for her, he reaches up to try and stroke her face, _‘Anyone who denies_ us _shouldn’t matter enough for us to care.’_

_‘...’_

_‘Yona?’_

_‘_ Father _is denying us.’_

And- well that’s the clincher, isn’t it? No matter how many nobles whispered behind their hands and turned their noses, Hwan could always be a porcupine and scare them off. But Yona’s Father is... important, to say the least.

Yona curls up tighter and adds, _‘And what about Soo-Won, and Kyung, and Hak, and Hye? What do they think of an unsettled princess?’_ Hwan opens his mouth to protest, but- _‘Hak has already made it clear he thinks we’re utterly childish- do you think maybe he would dislike being my bodyguard- being_ here _\- less, if you settled?’_ Hwan pauses, the thought never having occurred to him. _‘_ _And Soo-Won... Soo-Won would_ never _say it aloud if he thought you should settle. He’s too polite.’_

Game changer. Hwan’s mouth closes with a quiet click. It- it wasn’t _guaranteed_ that that was the case but- but there was a _slight_ chance because, well, the theories weren’t _improbable_... And there was honestly no argument left. Pretend to settle? As much as the very idea rattles Hwan’s bones, the thought of Hye being less distant, of Kyung being less patronizing, of Hak being _slightly_ less mean and of Soo-Won being _slightly_ more attentive of them...

It would be worth it.

He heaves out a shuddering sigh, then struggles out of Yona’s arms. When he’s sitting on the other side of the bed as her, her attention focused on him, he starts shifting between all the forms he’s ever been. He’s hoping he can find one that fits comfortably, if not perfectly, but all of them seem to give him an itch he can’t scratch, located somewhere above his spine.

_‘Any suggestions?’_ He questions her, resigned, and Yona sits up.

_‘Wh- what?’_

_‘If I’m going to pretend to settle, we should figure out a form we agree on.’_ Yona’s eyes go wide, her mouth opening in shock. Hwan’s not sure if it’s because she thought he wouldn’t accept it, or if she’s just being overwhelmed with the turn of events. But when he reaches one form, he stops. It’s the one he’s worn almost more than any other, and it’s- it’s _doable_ , if not exactly comfortable.

Yona practically stops breathing as he questions, _‘What about this one?’_ She swallows a couple of times, dry swallows, but then she nods, dazed.

Hwan shakes out his feathers, trilling out a tuneless sound.

_‘A peacock. Fitting for a princess.’_

 

**Hye**

 

Ever since Yona had walked out of her room the day after her fifteenth birthday with peacock-Hwan (a peacock? He’s only ever a peacock when Soo-Won’s around), saying that Hwan had settled, the two of them had been acting strange. Of course, to the rest of the palace, it is cause for celebration. The Princess’s daemon has settled, Oh Joy!

But...

Yona seems restless, always tapping her feet or her fingers on her arm. Shifting around, flicking her hair back, twirling it, running her hands through the sunrise strands. They’re all nervous habits, but Hye and Hak can’t be sure whether it’s because Yona is uncomfortable with all the attention or if she’s just more energetic now that Hwan’s settled. That’s not how it had been for them, but everyone is different after all. Maybe it's a prey animal thing; they wouldn’t know.

What worries them more is that Hwan seems... listless. Practically unresponsive. Sometimes when Hye tries to mess with him, what used to be met with an irritated warble at least is barely met with a slow turn of the head and a blink. It concerns her and Hak more than they can really admit.

But what can they say? Hwan has settled. If Yona and he says it’s so, then it must be true. And once a daemon has settled, of course there’s no going back. But they’ve never heard of a daemon _not_ being comfortable in the form they settle as. It’s as inconceivable as the sun setting in the North.

Honestly, whenever Hye and Hak had ever discussed Hwan and the possible forms he’d settle as, it was always a game they never took seriously half of the time. It was like an unstated fact that Hwan wouldn’t settle for a good long while yet, and that was perfectly fine. Yona and he could be as childish and naive as they wanted in this world of theirs, inside the castle walls, and it was nothing but endearing.

Another reason they’d never taken the game very seriously was because... well... they thought it was entirely unfair that Hwan wasn’t allowed to try out anything more than prey animals. His Majesty wasn’t helping _anything_ by saying what forms Hwan could or couldn’t take: he was limiting them, if anything.

They always thought Hwan would be a predator. He never really stuck with one species, always flitting from one to another, and sticking was always the first clue to what form they’d settle as. Hye had been a feline more than half the time, always feeling comfortable with claws that retracted and an agile body. Hye remembered that Kyung had almost always been in the air, flying in some way.

And Yona had always been a spit-fire. She’d argue until she was blue in the face and never admit when she was wrong. Hwan would keep pecking Hye for hours in as many forms as he could if she managed to get a jab in. Everyone Hye and Hak knew with that kind of temperament was either a tiny, chattery sparrow or a predator. So Hwan was almost _positively_ a predator.

At least, that’s what they’d thought. But a peacock is a peacock, and as colorful as he is now, it doesn’t seem to fit, like at some point they’ll blink and he’ll have shifted again. But they suppose Hwan and Yona would know better than them in a conflict of opinions, so they have nothing to say.

They really can’t say anything at all.

**Author's Note:**

> (Yona) Hwan: Unsettled (currently posing as an Indian Peacock)  
> (Hak) Hye: Unsettled-> Siberian Tiger  
> (Soo-Won) Kyung: Unsettled-> Falcon  
> (Joo-Doh) Seung (♂): Gray Wolf  
> (Kan Tae-Jun) Unnamed: Shar-Pei  
> (Geun-Tae) Chul: Komodo Dragon  
> (Mundok) Sook: African Lion  
> (Il) Sun: Armadillo


End file.
